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Repetition of diff erence – the search for unstable identity<br />
Svetlana Racanović<br />
Abstract<br />
Th e transition from a cultural paradigm strongly marked by traditional and national<br />
values towards an <strong>in</strong>ternational, global cultural context, as well as the post-transitional<br />
situation which follows, is a process marked by many cracks, twists, quakes and ambiguities<br />
which make this transfer of values less smooth, less certa<strong>in</strong> and less successful <strong>in</strong> terms<br />
of the constitution of a stable, coherent and controllable cultural identity. Th e creation<br />
of identity as a state of fl oat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>free</strong>, of unstable liaisons, unexpected coupl<strong>in</strong>gs and a<br />
constant production of diff erence, recommends itself as a strategy for the “New Age”.<br />
Keywords: Southeastern Europe, post-transitional state, <strong>in</strong>terplay of diff erences,<br />
plurality, unstable identity<br />
Th e transition from a cultural paradigm strongly marked or stigmatized by traditional<br />
and national cultural values towards a European or broader <strong>in</strong>ternational, global<br />
cultural context is perceived either as a traumatic experience dist<strong>in</strong>guished by a sense<br />
of anxiety, disorientation and loss or as the “fl atten<strong>in</strong>g of the uneven spots” and the<br />
provision of a safe and stable “<strong>in</strong>dividualization of cultural identifi cation” as a platform<br />
for new identity construction. When we say that we are becom<strong>in</strong>g more open, more<br />
adapted, <strong>in</strong>tegrated, participative and productive <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>ternational social, economic,<br />
political and cultural context, it oft en sounds like we have a perspective, that this is our<br />
perspective and that <strong>in</strong>tegration <strong>in</strong>evitably leads to a prosperous future. However, there<br />
are many cracks, twists, quakes and ambiguities which make this transition of values and<br />
the post-transitional state which follows, less smooth, less certa<strong>in</strong> and less successful <strong>in</strong><br />
terms of the constitution of stable, coherent and controllable cultural identity.<br />
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